[MJS Blog] The benefit of all those substitutions

[MJS_Says]

The benefit of all those substitutions
               



The TV announcers made mention of it in the Butler game, but if you’ve also noticed that the Marquette Golden Eagles are doing a lot more substituting lately, you’re not alone.

               

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/200268951.html
               

[BubbaWilliams]

so you don't need to click;

The TV announcers made mention of it in the Butler game, but if you've also noticed that the Marquette Golden Eagles are doing a lot more substituting lately, you're not alone.

"I think we've done it a little more in the tournament because every possession counts," said guard Derrick Wilson.

The benefits are simple: fresh legs. With the ability to go all out, the Golden Eagles can get back on defense and keep their explosive bursts.

"It's hard to play 110% for 40 straight minutes," said guard Trent Lockett. "Buzz knows that, that's why he substitutes so quickly."

"Yeah ... I never really understood his substitutions – but I trust him," said center Chris Otule. "He obviously knows what he's doing and its been working because we've been winning games."

All the checking in does mean that the players have to concentrate a little harder on the bench.

"When I am out of the game, I just try to focus on my man and see what he is doing, so when I get in there I know what I am doing," said Otule. "I am pretty sure that's what all the other guys do."

Wilson said all the subbing hasn't disrupted anyone's offensive flow. MU also hasn't been caught in any bad mix ups, said the players, like six men on the court, or a mixup while matching up, leaving someone open.

"That's a credit to our assistants. They're very strategic with our substitutions," said Lockett.

"We need to make that quick rotation because we pride ourselves on defense," said Wilson. "We play hard on every possession and don't take any time off and that's something we pride ourselves on. Those rotations may seem like a blur but when you're in them, they seem like a long time because we're playing our hardest."

• Marquette still has the over-looked, underappreciated feeling, and the master motivator, coach Buzz Williams, has tapped in to that resource big time as a way to charge up the Golden Eagles.

Vander Blue said this on Tuesday right before MU headed East:

"We saw Yahoo or ESPN did the rankings of the Sweet 16, and they actually put us last. It's everything we've gone through all year. We were projected to be seventh in the Big East and we ended up taking a share of that. Everybody had us losing to Davidson, if I'm not mistaken. We got past Butler, everyone projected us to lose. They actually put up an article saying that we lost – before the game was over and they had to go back and (re-)do it. Coach actually showed us that. So we've been underdogs all year.

"I sort of like being the underdog. I like being the hunter instead of being the hunted."

• That said, MU and Blue have one fan pulling for them – none other than Jeff Capel, the assistant at Duke who coached Blue when he was younger.

"I love him, I have kept in touch with him since," said Capel. "I've watched him since he's been there, he's had incredible success especially this year with the game winners. I think he's a perfect fit for Buzz and I'm just extremely happy for the success that he's had."

[JMcSteal]

Good read, Love that the ESPN rankings are just adding more motivation. Going to be a good game tomorrow.

[klyrish]

Good read, Love that the ESPN rankings are just adding more motivation. Going to be a good game tomorrow.

I don't know if I've been as excited about a game all season as I am about tomorrow's!